Helvetia

The Hofers

Katherine and Johannes Hofer Sr. sit on their porch in Helvetia in 1903. The Hofers immigrated from Grosshöchstetten, Canton Bern, in Switzerland in the early 1870s. Johannes Hofer was president of the Grütliverein, a mutual assistance society that helped members who needed help during planting or harvesting. The initial founding of Helvetia was carried out by a mutual aid society in Brooklyn. Photo by Gottlieb Hofer.